Thin Ice: Survival has never been so much fun Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Set Up
• Tile Types
• Game Play
• Actions
  • Move your Meeple
  • Move an Ice Tile
  • Roll the Dice
• Expansion Tiles
  • Kraken
  • Partial Ice Tiles
  • Rotating Partial Ice Tiles
• Event Cards
  • Bear-ly there
  • Easily distracted
  • Hi-bear-nation
  • At one with nature
  • Saw it coming
  • RRRAAHHHH!
  • Zen moment
  • Run…
  • Mighty Leap
  • Oh no you don't
  • Let's vote on that
  • Sudden slip
  • Mass panic!!

Set Up

• Place an Ice Hole tile in the centre of the table.
• 3-4 players take 24 tiles / 5-6 players take 35 tiles, shuffle them Ice side up.
• Create a square grid with the Ice Hole at the centre (3-4 players = 5x5, 5-6 players = 6x6).
• Place the Polar Bear, lying down (asleep) on the Ice Hole.
• Each player takes a meeple. Starting with a randomly determined first player place your meeple on one of the 8 adjacent (orthogonal & diagonal) tiles around the Ice Hole.
• Shuffle the event cards and deal two to each player.

Tile Types

The sheet shows these tile types as images with the captions below. The captions are transcribed as printed.

• Ice / Cracked ice
• Ice / Killer Whale
• Ice / Perma-ice
• Ice hole / Cracked hole
• Ice / Kraken
• Partial Ice / Rotating Partial Ice

Game Play

• Players take turns going clockwise, completing all 3 actions (if possible).
• If a player is Lost At Sea or Adrift they can still roll the dice on their turn.
• There is a hand limit of 2 event cards.
• You may play as many event cards as you wish on your turn.
• You may discard as many event cards as you wish at the end of your turn.
• You may draw back up to your hand limit at the start of your turn.

Actions

Each turn, complete these actions:

• Move your meeple.
• Move a tile.
• Roll the dice and resolve the action.

Move your Meeple

• Move to an adjacent (orthogonal or diagonal) tile.
• You cannot move onto a tile featuring the Killer Whale, Kraken, Polar Bear or another Meeple.
• If you cannot complete a move action you become Lost At Sea. Your meeple is removed and you are out of the game. On your turn you can still roll the dice.
• When moving from an Ice or Ice Hole tile flip the tile to its Cracked side.
• When moving from a Cracked Ice or Cracked Ice Hole tile remove the tile from the game.

Move an Ice Tile

• If possible move a tile one space orthogonally into an empty sea space.
• You may not move a Cracked Ice or Cracked Ice Hole tile, or a tile featuring the Polar Bear or a Meeple.
• When a tile is no longer orthogonally adjacent to any other tiles it is Adrift and is discarded from the game.
• If this causes other tiles to become Adrift they are also discarded.
• If a meeple is on a tile that is caused to become Adrift that player is Adrift. Your meeple is removed and you are out of the game. On your turn you can still roll the dice.
• If the Polar Bear is on a tile that is removed it is placed in the sea space revealed.
• If a Killer Whale is moved into a sea space containing the Polar Bear the active player moves the Polar Bear into any adjacent sea space or tile (not containing a Killer Whale or Kraken).
• If the Polar Bear is moved onto a tile with a meeple this player is chased away (see below).

Roll the Dice

The sheet shows four dice faces. Each face is an image with a caption beside it; only the captions are text. No other faces are listed on the sheet.

Polar Bear face (hand icon): "Move the polar bear one space (including into the sea!)"

• If the Polar Bear is laying down (asleep), stand it up (awake).
• If the Polar Bear is awake you can move it to any adjacent (orthogonal/diagonal) tile or sea space, except a Killer Whale or Kraken.
• When moving from an Ice or Ice Hole tile flip the tile to its Cracked side.
• When moving from a Cracked Ice or Cracked Ice Hole tile remove the tile from the game.
• If the Polar Bear is moved onto a tile with a meeple, the meeple is Chased Away. The active player must move their meeple onto any adjacent (orthogonal/diagonal) tile, except a Killer Whale.
• If the meeple moves onto an Ice Hole/Cracked Ice Hole they fall down the hole. They are laid down and the player must use their next turn to stand back up.
• If you cannot be moved to a legal tile you are Lost at Sea (see above).

Slide face (four-arrow icon): "Slide another tile or the same tile twice."

• If possible you must move a tile, all normal rules apply.

Crack face (cracked-tile icon): "Crack an ice tile (turn it over) or discard a cracked tile."

• If possible you must crack (flip over) an Ice or Ice Hole Tile or remove an already cracked tile.
• You cannot crack or remove a tile with the polar bear or a meeple on.

Refreeze face (snowflake icon): "Refreeze (turn over) a cracked tile or the killer whale."

• If possible you must refreeze (flip over) any cracked tile (including the Killer Whale or Kraken).
• You cannot refreeze a tile with the polar bear or a meeple on.

Expansion Tiles

Kraken

• The Kraken can be moved on top of the Killer Whale Tile. The Killer Whale must then be moved following normal rules, if this is not possible it is discarded.
• The Kraken can be moved on top of the Polar Bear when it is in a sea space, the Polar Bear must then be moved following normal rules, if this is not possible it is discarded.
• When a player rolls a Polar Bear on the die they may can destroy and remove any tile adjacent to the Kraken, instead of moving the Polar Bear.
• If a meeple is on this tile it must move to an adjacent tile (following normal rules), if this is not possible it becomes lost at sea.

Partial Ice Tiles

The sheet shows this tile as an image.

• You may only move on/off these tiles from an edge with ice. All other normal rules apply.

Rotating Partial Ice Tiles

The sheet shows this tile as an image.

• You may only move on/off these tiles from an edge with ice. When a meeple moves off the tile it is flipped to the cracked side as normal, then it is rotated 90° left or right from its original orientation. All other normal rules apply.

Event Cards

The cards below are transcribed from the English column of the community bilingual table (cards-en-ru.pdf). Card names and effects are the English text as printed, including the "Timing" column. Russian text is not reproduced.

Note: the community table is a third-party document. The Russian column of "Sliding in style" prints a German name ("Schlittern mit Stil"); the English name is used here.

Bear-ly there

• Timing: Immediately after a polar bear has been rolled on the dice.
• Effect: The polar bear doesn't crack a tile or cause a cracked tile to be discarded this turn.

Easily distracted

• Timing: Immediately after a polar bear has been rolled on the dice.
• Effect: You move the bear this turn.

Hi-bear-nation

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: The bear goes back to sleep again. Lay the bear on its side. The bear must be woken up again before it moves.

At one with nature

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: The polar bear may not be moved towards you until after your next turn.

Saw it coming

• Timing: Immediately after the polar bear has moved onto your tile.
• Effect: You decide which adjacent tile you move to when chased by the polar bear.

RRRAAHHHH!

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: If you are adjacent to the bear you can move the bear one tile away from you, but it cannot chase another player.

Zen moment

• Timing: In your turn.
• Effect: Look through the top 3 event cards. Keep one of them and put the other two cards either at the top or bottom of the deck.

Run…

• Timing: In your turn.
• Effect: Move your playing piece an extra tile this turn.

Mighty Leap

• Timing: In your turn.
• Effect: For your move you may jump over a player on an adjacent tile.

Oh no you don't

• Timing: Immediately after any card has been played.
• Effect: Cancel the effect of the card that has just been played.

Let's vote on that

• Timing: Immediately after any card has been played.
• Effect: Every player votes (even if they are out of the game) to determine whether the effect on the played card happens. A draw or more votes against means it doesn't happen.

Sudden slip

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: The current player misses the rest of their turn.

Mass panic!!

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: Everyone must pass their hand of cards to the player on their left or right, according to the direction chosen by the person who played this card.

Are you sure?

• Timing: Immediately after the dice has been rolled.
• Effect: The player has to reroll the dice.

What's the plan?

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: Look at a single player's hand of cards.

Ice shift

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: You may swap the position of two adjacent tiles even if they have a polar bear or player on them.

Ice with that?

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: Take a tile (an ice / cracked ice) from the discard pile of tiles and place it ice face up adjacent to any other tile.

It's moving

• Timing: In your turn.
• Effect: You have an extra tile slide this turn.

Cold Snap

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: Refreeze any cracked tile.

Two's company

• Timing: During your turn.
• Effect: During your movement this turn you may move onto an uncracked tile that is occupied by another meeple.

In it together

• Timing: At the start of your turn.
• Effect: Immediately pick a meeple on an adjacent tile. If you become "lost at sea" this turn the chosen meeple also becomes "lost at sea" with you in the same sea space.

Catch this!

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: Choose a player on an adjacent tile. That player rolls the dice, if they roll a bear symbol then they are given this card. If they don't roll a bear symbol then their meeple is laid on its side and they miss their next turn. They must also discard a card.

Sliding in style

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: Until the end of your next turn a player moving off of a tile does not cause it to crack or a cracked tile to be discarded.

Life Jacket

• Timing: At any time.
• Effect: Until the end of your next turn you can be in sea and are still alive and in the game. This also allow you to move from one sea space into another sea space.

Flare

• Timing: Immediately after a polar bear has been rolled on the dice.
• Effect: The bear cannot be moved this turn.

Paddle like mad

• Timing: At any time or immediately when you become "adrift".
• Effect: Move the tile you are on 1 space orthogonally.